The Phillies have a history of calling up a speed-first player once rosters expand, and manager Charlie Manuel hinted yesterday that this year would be no different. While veteran lefthander Jack Taschner was the lone promotion yesterday - the first day without the 25-man cap on active rosters - the Phillies plan to make more moves over the next week.
One of the new players likely will be a player who is utilized primarily as a pinch-runner and base-stealer, much like Michael Bourn in 2006 and 2007 and Greg Golson last September.
"We're actually looking for somebody like that,'' Manuel said.
Manuel said the team is still deliberating the move because the player in mind is young, which suggests the Phillies could be looking at either Reading's Quintin Berry or Lakewood's Anthony Gose. Gose, 19, leads all Phillies minor leaguers with 75 steals (in 95 attempts) while hitting .270 with a .335 on-base percentage. Berry, 24, is second in the organization with 48 steals on 61 attempts.
Would the organizaton consider top outfield prospect Domonic Brown, a five-tool player who has 22 steals in 31 attempts this season at three minor league stops? A team source said 2 weeks ago a promotion for Brown, who turns 22 tomorrow, was unlikely. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was not available for comment yesterday.
Aside from the base-stealer, the Phillies also are likely to promote outfielder John Mayberry Jr., who is hitting .260 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI for Triple A Lehigh Valley. Mayberry hit .189 with four home runs in 35 games for the Phillies earlier this season.
The Phillies likely will add a third catcher, although Clearwater's Joel Naughton is the only one on the 40-man roster.
The minor league season runs through the end of the week.
"The people we are going to bring up, we want to keep them there and keep playing," Manuel said. "Within the next 4 days to a week, we don't anticipate using a lot of players yet.''
Stairs surviving
Matt Stairs didn't even stop to think. Asked by a reporter to pinpoint the worst slump of his career, the 41-year-old veteran responded, "This one.''
But Stairs, who is hitless in his last 27 at-bats dating back to a July 11 home run against the Pirates, has been around long enough to know that frustration can only prolong a slump. Last week, after one particularly fruitless at-bat, he found himself slamming a foreign object with his bat and laughing.
"I'm just an old guy hitting a door with a bat,'' he said.
Stairs has identified the problem - a hitch in the early part of his swing that causes his body to turn. The difficulty lies in correcting it while getting sporadic at-bats. He is a fixture at early batting practice, and yesterday brought batting-practice pitcher Ali Modami onto the diamond to run through a soft-toss routine that the duo usually performs inside the batting cage.
Stairs, whose batting average has dropped from .283 to .195 during the slump, knows that he can find his swing just as quickly as it disappeared.
He finished last season 2-for-10, then went hitless in two at-bats in the National League Division Series. His 13th at-bat came in the NLCS, when he hit a game-winning home run off Jonathan Broxton.
"It's always one swing, usually a foul back, and [you say], 'There it is,' " Stairs said.
Taschner recalled
Jack Taschner harbors no ill will toward the Phillies for their decision to option him to Triple A Lehigh Valley on July 3, a move that opened a roster spot for spot starter Rodrigo Lopez.
"I was pitching like [bleep]," said Taschner, who posted a 5.20 ERA in 21 appearances after the Phillies acquired him from the Giants late in spring training.
The demotion allowed Taschner to alter his delivery, moving from a straight overhand motion to a three-quarters arm slot. Taschner posted a 2.08 ERA in 20 appearances for Lehigh Valley before the Phillies recalled him yesterday, when roster limits disappeared. Taschner said pitching coach Rich Dubee suggested the change on the day he was sent down. Lehigh Valley pitching coach Rod Nichols helped Taschner implement the new delivery, which he said is one he should have been using all along.
"I feel like I'm more in control,'' said Taschner, who also credits the change with giving him more movement on his fastball.
Phillers
Lefthander Cole Hamels is the Phillies' nominee for the 2009 Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the MLB player who combines exceptional performance on the field with work in the community . . . Charlie Manuel entered last night needing two wins to tie Jim Fregosi for fourth place (431) in club history.
